The General's Side
by ExactChase
Summary: Betrayed by her friends, Ruby is taken in and rebuilt by Ironwood, who turns her into the most feared individual in the Altesian Military. Edited by DemonFoxBK201
1. Betrayed

Ironwood kneeled beside the wounded girl in Emerald Forest. Most of her limbs were missing, with the exception of her left arm. A rather large wound ran up her face, and another wound was in her chest. "Will we send her back to Beacon?" Penny asked.

"No." Ironwood said, "Beacon doesn't want her back." He stood, motioning for a few of his soldiers to grab her. "They did this to her."

Penny looked as though she was considering what he had just said, and James hated it. It was a machine, but it thought, lived, felt. That terrified him. He brushed these feelings aside, and focused on the task at hand. "Do you know her?" He asked, showing little to no emotion as usual.

"Huh?" The ginger asked, not expecting the question.

"Do you know her?" He asked again.

"Yes." Penny answered sadly. "Why would someone do this to her?"

"Because she's special." James answered. "Because she's everything Beacon could ask for. Because she sets the bar too high. Because she is another level of perfect: the perfect hero."

The ramp lowered to the Bullhead, and James entered the bullhead that brought him out there.

Earlier that day, Ozpin sent teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and CRDL on a mission to kill as many Grimm as they could in the Emerald Forest.

It went south from there.

The teams had decided to split up with their partners. At some point Pyrrha and Jaune got separated. The redhead met up with Team CRDL to carry out their plan. She signaled Weiss to begin Phase One, and the heiress began to maliciously attack her leader. Unfortunately, Ruby was too fast and, once she recovered from surprise, blocked every hit.

Noticing that the Ice Queen needed assistance, Pyrrha and CRDL came out of the bushes, and Pyrrha disarmed Ruby, slicing her right arm clean off, cutting straight through the girl's aura. Ruby cried out in pain and fell to her knees. Upon realization that her teammate, with the help of one of her friends and team CRDL, was trying to kill her, Ruby began to cry. "Why?" Was all she could say, coming to the dreadful realization that these were her final moments. "I trusted you!" She screamed, rage taking over, her eyes turning blood red like Yang, then to dull grey.

"I trusted you!" Everyone who was in the forest heard Ruby's rage-fueled scream. Yang immediately called her sister on her scroll, and when Ruby didn't answer, she called Weiss.

Weiss looked down at the caller ID on her scroll, and motioned for Pyrrha to make sure Ruby couldn't be heard. When the heiress answered, she faked crying. "Yang… I'm sorry… R-Ruby… T-They cornered her… There were just so many… I-I got scared and ran. She kept calling for me to come back, a-and when I didn't she screamed at me."

"O-Okay…" Yang quietly said. "Meet us back at the Bullhead.

Weiss hung up, and turned back to Ruby. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. But we can't have a little girl ruining Beacon's image, can we?"

Ruby slung her head back, slamming into Pyrrha's face, and ran. "You little shit!" Pyrrha yelled in anger, feeling the blood running down her face. She picked up her shield and threw it towards Ruby. The shield hit just above her knees, taking her legs off. Ruby screamed in pain, but it was not loud enough that it could not be heard by the others. Ruby landed on her back, and Weiss plunged Myrtenaster through her chest. The younger girl spit out blood, and went limp from blood loss. "She was easy." Cardin commented smugly.

"Easy for you to say." Pyrrha said, wiping the blood from her face. "You didn't do shit."

 **Edited by DemonFoxBK201**


	2. It Begins

"Mister Ironwood?" Penny asked. The two were on their way to the large fleet command ship. Both were sitting in the sleek, white chairs just outside the room on the ship where Ruby was being operated on. "How did you find Ruby?" She asked, not looking up from the place on the ground she had been staring at. Ironwood looked up from the tablet he was filing a report on.

"What do you mean?" He asked, clearly annoyed. He didn't like Penny, and she knew that. He may be taking care of her, but this was only because so much lien had been put into creating her, and he didn't want it to go to waste.

"How did you know where she was?" Penny rephrased the question, hoping he would understand and give her the answer so that he would stop looking at her so angrily.

After a long moment of silence, he answered "Her scroll has a tracer. It was put in after The Breach. She always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. I didn't like it. Now I see that it was all just luck. And her luck ran out." He looked back down at the tablet and continued filling out his report.

"But how?" Another question came.

Ironwood sighed, irritated by her questions. This was the military, not pre-school. Creating a sentient robot had its downsides: it asked too many questions. It was curious. It never understood. It was immature. It was like having a toddler that knew how to follow orders. "She dropped it during The Breach and we took it in, saying it was evidence. Is that all?" Penny nodded in response, sensing his hostility.

The metallic door beside Ironwood slid open, the pistons that opened it making a noise once it went all the way in.

"General." An Altesian medic appeared in the doorway. "We have sealed the primary wound, what do you want us to do with the girl?" Ironwood stood and turned to the medic, setting the tablet down on his seat.

"Have you cauterized the limbs?" He asked.

"Yessir." The man immediately responded. "It was the first thing we did."

"Good. Wait until we arrive at the command vessel before you replace her limbs." Ironwood commanded.

Ruby sat up, trying to figure out where she was. She could see 'Rose' in the top left hand corner of her vision, but as far as she could tell, it was pitch black in the room she was in. Then her vision turned green, and she could see that she was in a forest.

"Miss Rose," a man's voice came through her ear, making her jump.

"Where am I?" She asked, looking around. She noticed that her voice came out as deep and distorted.

"Don't worry about that." He said. "I am General Ironwood. I believe you have met me."

"Yeah. I remember you." Ruby replied

"Good." The General said. "Do you remember what happened before now?"

"Yes, General." She said, now sounding dark. "I was betrayed."

"Yes, and I saved you. I replaced your limbs, and saved your life. But your dreams were destroyed by your conspirators. I can make you something better than a huntress and you can help people like you've always dreamed." He told her.

"I may have been defeated easily, but I'm not stupid. You're trying to manipulate me." She said.

"No." He said. "I'm offering you a position in the Atlesian military. Thoughts of revenge cloud your mind—"

"How do you know that?" She asked frantically.

"I've been where you are: scared, alone, vengeful, angry." He told her. "They did this to you because you were better."

"I'll join you." She said immediately after, not allowing him to gain momentum.

"Good." He said. "I'm dropping your new partner in. When the time is right, I will unleash you into the world."

Once he finished speaking, the forest disappeared, transforming into a massive grid. It was a simulation room. A door opened against the wall, and Penny came in. "Penny?" Ruby asked.

"Why does your voice sound like that, Ruby?" The ginger timidly asked.

"I'm unsure." Ruby brought her hand to her face, finding that she was wearing a mask. It was smooth and metallic. It seemed to curve in front of her face, and by the way Penny was looking at her, she didn't think her face could be seen either.

Suddenly, a tab appeared over Penny's head. It read, "P.E.N.N.Y. Operating at peak performance."

"I didn't know Penny was an acronym." Ruby said.

"You can also run diagnostics on yourself." Ironwood's voice told her.

Several tabs appeared on Ruby's HUD: "Stealth, Blaster, Shield, Semblance Masking, Diagnosis, Melee." Ruby thought of going into the Diagnosis menu, and it was selected. She quickly realized that she had to use her mind for this. A diagram of her suit appeared. It looked like it was designed to take a nuclear bomb head on. The left arm was highlighted as, 'Shield', the right was 'Blaster'. The boots were the 'Semblance Mask'.

The body pieces were form fitting, but still protective. The suit was completely black and grey, the mask completely black. It was apparent to Ruby that the Blaster was retractable, as she could see it on the diagram, but when she looked down, it was just a mirror of the left hand.

(A/N: The boots and arms look like Lazer Team, but black and grey.)

"Ready?" Ironwood asked.

"Ready." Ruby said, extending the Blaster.

Grimm materialized in the room, surrounding Ruby and Penny.

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	3. Yang

[Months Later]

"Schnee!" Ironwood angrily called out. He and Ruby had just walked up to Winter, and Qrow fighting in Beacon's courtyard. "What do you think you're doing?" The General asked.

"He started the altercation, sir." Winter stated, standing at attention.

"Actually," Qrow said. "She attacked first."

"I don't care who did what!" James stated firmly. "I could have just as easily had Perseus take care of it, and you don't want her to get involved."

Perseus was Ruby's code name, or at least that's what James told her, she knew that it was truly the name of the suit she wore.

At the mention of her, Ruby growled. It came out a lot more intimidating with the voice distorter. Qrow gave her an odd look. Ruby had found out early on, that her suit intimated people. She used this to her advantage whenever she spoke. She didn't speak very often, but when she didn't need to speak, she usually growled.

"Perseus?" Qrow asked. "That's your pet's name." He walked over and put his arm around Ruby's shoulders. He pulled down the black hood that she had added to her suit, expecting to see her face, but only saw her mask. She slowly turned her head to face him, growling as she did so. "I don't like to be touched." She told him.

"Scary." He sarcastically remarked, removing his arm from her shoulders. But Ruby didn't bother to put the hood back up.

"Judging me by my size, are you?" Ruby asked, not bothering to try and imitate the voice.

"No." Qrow said. "I judge you by the fact that you're trying to be scary. You're trying to scare your enemies and make them believe you're superior. I don't judge people by their size. My late niece was the smallest girl I'd ever seen, and still one of the the greatest fighters."

"Qrow." James said. "She's not dressed like that to scare people. She dresses like that to conceal her identity."

"Why should she have to? If she's all that you say she is?" Qrow asked.

"Because I have a past I'd rather forget." Ruby interjected. "And I'm not the prettiest under all this." She added a little humor partially to lighten the mood, partially because it was true. She had a few rather large scars that ran across her face. She didn't care about how she looked under the mask, but because it was a reminder of her past failures.

To be honest with herself, Ruby loved the armor she had been given. It made her feel like a character out of Star Wars. When she wore her hood up, she held it in place with a chain that went across her chest. She also used her cloak to hide her weapons, which she had quite a few of. She had a handgun strapped to her thigh, she had a blackened version of Crescent Rose on her back. She had to refrain from using it though, she was surrounded by people who knew her. She had two katanas on her belt. The blades folded up into the hilt, making it easier to transport.

When Ozpin approached the group, Ironwood turned to Ruby. "Perseus, you are dismissed. Take Polendina with you, if you plan on going anywhere."

Ruby began to walk off, and Penny came out of the crowd of students and followed. Ruby's mask gave her the ability to telepathically communicate with Penny and the Atlesian Military bots, so Penny always knew where Ruby was going. Ruby could also stop Penny from speaking. The function was added after a few... incidents. Ruby began to walk to Beacon, but was stopped by Weiss.

"Where do you think you're—" The heiress was cut off by a feral growl, much worse than what she had given Qrow.

"I don't care for Schnee's." Ruby growled.

"Who do you think you are?!" Weiss asked.

"Your worst nightmare." Ruby was getting angrier the more she looked at Weiss.

"Don't be a cliche with my teammate!" A familiar voice called to her. Ruby turned and saw her sister standing ten feet away, wearing the red cloak that was formerly Ruby's.

"What will you do, Xiao Long?" Ruby asked. "Cower behind all you have left of your sister?" Ruby had seen in Weiss' eyes that she suspected that Perseus was Ruby Rose. She was forced to throw those suspicions out the window.

"H-How do you know about Ruby?" Yang asked, her voice beginning to break.

"I work under General Ironwood. I know everything about everyone." She claimed, cracking her knuckles. It was another intimidation trick she had quickly picked up on, but it only worked when she said something intimidating. "I know that when you were young, you put your sister into a wagon and nearly got her, along with you, killed. I know that Qrow Branwen is the only reason you're still alive, and I know that it kills you that Ruby was the first of Taiyang's children to die."

Anticipating Yang's next action, Ruby ordered Penny away. Yang rushed towards Ruby's back at break-neck speed. Ruby turned around and pointed one of her katanas at Yang, who skidded to a stop, the blade mere centimeters from her throat.

"You blame yourself for your sister's death, thinking she died because you were weak. However, that is untrue. You were halfway across the forest. What could you have done? Cried over the body? Brought something back for them to bury? No matter what you could have done that day, she would have died." She told her.

"We could have not split up!" Yang yelled in anguish.

"And then what?" Ruby asked. "Sacrificed yourself for her? Grief is selfish. You are emotionally distressed because someone is gone. She is in a much better place, and she has moved on to a better life. One that you will not achieve wallowing in your own self-pity." Ruby retracted her blade and began to walk off.

If anyone could see her face, they would have seen that tears were going down her face. She muted the input for her distorter, and cried as she walked away.

She missed it all. She missed Beacon. She missed her team. She missed her sister. She missed her father. She missed her old life.

The life she could never have.

Ruby felt the ground leave her feet, and slam into her face plate. The glass cracked and her HUD glitched. She re-enabled the input and flipped onto her back, seeing a very angry Yang clearly trying to kill her. She dodged the blonde's punch, and kicked her in the back. "AttaCkING a mE-MeMber of the ATleSIAN militArY is tr-tr-treaSON.." Ruby told her, leaping to her feet, with her voice distorter glitching. "THis is youR only-LY warnING." In response, Yang decked her, or at least tried to. Ruby brought up her shield, and blocked the hit, swiping Yang's feet out from under her with her legs.

"Yang Xiao-Long!" Penny yelled, approaching the two. "Don't attack my superior officer!"

"Your superior officer?" Weiss asked, only now joining the altercation.

"Yes. Miss Perseus is in charge of everything I do. She's very nice." Penny said firmly.

"That bitch was talking shit about Ruby!" Yang growled. Penny just looked confused. "You're not using those words right." She claimed.

"ShE'S usING thEM rIGHT." Ruby told her.

"Oh!" Ruby had telepathically told Penny what Yang meant. "Yang said such mean things about you?! R—" Penny was about to continue, but it seemed as though something shut her up.

"LeT'S gO, PeNNy." Ruby said, parts of her real voice dripping through. Her former teammates didn't pick up on it. Ruby and Penny began to make their way back to the Bullhead so that they could go back to the command frigate.

"Looks like we have a new access point. Let's see what James is hiding." Cinder looked down at her scroll, opening it, she found the file for Project Perseus. "Ooh. Shiny."


	4. PvP

Ruby walked into her room on the command frigate.

It was a nice room, and rather large as well. It was mostly a metallic white, with a grey trim near the bottom. Her bed was a very neatly made twin bed. It was nothing too fancy, just pure white metal. The side of the bed was pushed against the far wall in the center. On the right wall, just above Ruby's desk/workspace, in a glass case, mounted onto her desk, was the original Crescent Rose.

While, most of her room was neat, her workspace was a mess. Screws and scraps of metal were spread out over blueprints, covering them. Her actual desk was U-shaped, the blueprints on one side, and three monitors on the other. Underneath the desk was the actual desktop. Beside the keyboard was a plug-in game controller, because, while she worked for the military, she was still a fifteen year old girl who liked video games. Just beside her desk was a case to store her armor. The case slid into the wall in case of an attack.

On the other side of the room was an entertainment center with a couch. Because, again, she was still a fifteen year old girl.

She walked over to the case and stepped in. She turned, facing outwards. The suit spun, and the back opened, allowing her to step out. Underneath the suit, Ruby wore camo cargo pants, beige combat boots, and a plain grey T-shirt that read; "Perseus." Her hair was now a bit longer than it had been at Beacon, but was still uneven in its usual hairstyle. She had a large scar running over her right eye, but not actually touching the eye. She had a smaller scar on her upper lip. She had another one on her chin, running up almost horizontally to her bottom lip.

Ruby moved over to her workspace, having grabbed the helmet from the case, and began to work on fixing it.

Later on, in the singles round, the day after Yang's.. "Incident with Mercury," Ruby was assigned to represent Atlas. Ironwood told her that it would show people that the Atlesian Military was not to be messed with. Ruby would have preferred that Penny do it, but Ironwood insisted, and Penny backed him up.

"Next up," Port said over the speakers, "Is Perseus from Atlas…! Versus! Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"

Ruby stepped into the arena, facing her opponent. "There will not be much left of you, when I'm done." She threatened. Pyrrha ignored it. While, this chick looked pretty scary, it might just be a compensation.

"Ready!" Oobleck yelled through the speakers. Pyrrha readied her weapon, while Ruby did nothing, standing nonchalantly. "Fight!" With her cue heard, Ruby activated her stealth mode. "This is going to be an interesting fight." Port said.

After moving further away from her target, Ruby deactivated stealth and fired at Pyrrha with her Blaster. Pyrrha blocked it with Akouo, and flew back five feet, dropping her weapons.

Pyrrha brought herself to her feet. Now, instead of Perseus, she saw Ruby, swinging Crescent Rose right at her. Pyrrha used her semblance, and launched the scythe away from her.

Perseus flew away, laughing, as Pyrrha scrambled to her feet. She suddenly swiped her hand, and Ruby's prosthetic arm was ripped out of its socket, sending wires and sparks everywhere.

Now enraged, Ruby charged at Pyrrha, kicking the redhead's chin, using her semblance masking boots to increase her speed. Pyrrha's aura immediately went into the red, but Ruby didn't stop.

She sprinted towards Pyrrha, who was now falling back to the ground, and kicked her, sending her flying into the force field that separated the audience from the arena. Ruby caught Pyrrha by the throat just before she hit the ground, using her human arm.

"She's going to kill her." Jaune realized.

The Atlesian bots rushed in, receiving the desperate order to stop the fight, but immediately shut down. Pyrrha stared where she assumed Perseus' eyes were, even with her face covered, Pyrrha could tell that the Atlesian hated her.

Perseus' shield extended just in time to stop a sword from taking her other, flesh, arm off. "Let her go!" Jaune commanded.

"Why?" Perseus asked in her echoing, intimidating voice. Despite not getting an answer, she dropped Pyrrha anyway, and walked off.

Ruby picked up her dismembered arm just as a woman took control of the speakers.

"Schnee's." She said, "Atlas' pride and joy. It's disgraceful. Schnee's can get away with anything. Including attempted murder." Weiss tried to ignore the way Blake glanced at her. "Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company… Murdered someone. And what was the lie that she told? 'The Grimm got her'." Blake was now staring daggers into Weiss. "If the public file of this person's death is anything to go by, Schnee should have at least been charged with desertion." The transmission cut out. Everyone in the restaurant was now staring at Weiss.

"She's lying!" Weiss claimed. She looked at Blake, "You know I wouldn't do such a thing?" Blake nodded.

"I know that. Ruby was a friend." She said.

Ruby pushed her arm back into its socket, and it connected. She swiveled the shoulder, making sure it wasn't damaged. "Perseus!" Ironwood's voice shot into her ear. "Apprehend Weiss Schnee at all costs. And do not— I repeat do not let her get off Beacon's Campus." He told her.

"Yes sir." She said, purposely saying it loud enough for Jaune and Pyrrha to hear. "Schnee will be in my custody within the hour. If not, I'll bring you her head."

Ruby dashed towards the edge of the colosseum. She jumped into the audience, running up the stairs, she flipped over the fence, soaring down to Beacon below.

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	5. A Hundred To One

A/N: LLLLET'S FLASHBACK!

Ironwood stood in the large training hall on the command frigate, facing a hundred of his strongest men, Ruby by his side.

"This woman," He pointed to her. She wasn't wearing her Perseus Armor, but rather her Perseus T-Shirt, and camo cargo pants. Her prosthetic arm was exposed. It looked like they had coated Ruby's arm in metal and then cut lines in it to increase flexibility.

"Has trained with you, ate with you, but she is not yet one of you." Ironwood continued. "Today, we find out if she really is Atlesian material. All of you will go against all of her. Be warned, she has not been trained to subdue, but rather kill." He turned to Ruby, "Whenever you're ready, Ruby." He told her.

Ruby acknowledged him, grinned, and sprinted into the crowd at full speed, taking out as many as she could. One of the soldiers tried to hit her on the back of the head, but she caught his hand and quickly broke his wrist. She picked him up, and threw him into the crowd, knocking him, and three other guys out. Ruby elbowed one, while kicking another in the face, knocking both out.

Next, seven men came at her at once, she flipped over one, and they all collided, knocking one another out. Ruby did a cartwheel for show, grabbing a grenade from one of the men and tossing it into the crowd, taking quite a few of the men out. Another mindless fool ran at her. She swiped his feet out from under him, and kicked him at the crowd. Ruby, who was mentally keeping count, was at forty-three.

"Almost halfway, boys!" She teased, earning a man charging to her, whom she leaped on, slamming his head into the ground. The next guy who came at her was launched into the crowd, who was now trying to rush her. It didn't work.

She slammed the guy in the front in the stomach, and used him as a shield, pushing her way through the crowd, kicking anyone who fell underneath her.

"Seventy!" She shouted heartily, the men quickly grew angry at her childish nature. A man came at her with a knife, to which she broke his arm, and launched both him and the knife into the twenty-nine remaining men.

Soon, with little effort, Ruby had taken down every single one of them, standing in the center of the room with pride.

Present Day…

Weiss and Blake ran through Beacon, dodging the Atlesian guards who were after the heiress. That's when Yang arrived. The blonde grabbed Weiss by the throat, lifting her up and slamming her against the wall.

"Yang!" Weiss choked out, "I didn't do anything to Ruby! You have to believe me!" Yang dropped the heiress.

"I believe you." Yang sighed, "I just needed to hear you say it. After all, you are my friend." Yang patted her teammate's shoulder, offering a small smile.

"Freeze, Schnee!" Perseus' deep, echoing, voice commanded. WBY turned around to see the black clad woman pointing a handgun at Weiss. "You are under arrest for violation of the international laws of Remnant." She said.

"I didn't—" Weiss was cut off by Perseus' roaring voice.

"Liar!" She yelled. "Nikos dismembered her and then you impaled her!"

"I did no such thing!" Weiss shot back. She could barely hide her growing panic. How much did this person know?

"Enough of this!" Perseus shouted angrily. "You are a killer—" Perseus was suddenly tackled by Yang.

"Weiss did not kill my sister!" Yang angrily yelled. Perseus pushed herself onto her back, kicking Yang over her head, and flipping onto her feet. She began to walk towards Weiss, but Yang got back up, sprinting towards the Atlesian.

Perseus foresaw this, and easily countered the blonde's attack, sending her to the ground. Directly after, Blake stepped into the fight. The faunas leaped in, chopping down on Perseus with Gambol Shroud. Perseus caught the blade and looked Blake in the eyes, "Ruby was the first human to accept you for who you were, rather than what you are. Weiss did, and has, not. Schnee is lying to you."

She swiped Blake's legs out from under her, and Yang stood, swinging at Perseus, who ducked and dodged every punch.

"Ruby was your little sister, whom you cared for like a daughter. She was what kept you under control, with her gone, let's see how far you'll—" Yang finally landed a hit on Perseus, launching her to the other side of the campus.

A shower of rubble exploded outwards in protest to Perseus suddenly hitting a wall. The world faded to black as Perseus lost consciousness.

Hours Later…

Ruby struggled to open her eyes, feeling pain throughout her body. Her visor was cracked, and glitching everywhere. She sat up, throwing rubble off her body, her muscles screaming in protest at the sudden movement.

She mentally told her HUD to display the damage. Her suit was massively damaged. Ruby reached downwards and tore a sharp piece of metal from her abdomen. She grunted in pain and stood. Her armor soon expanded over the wound and cauterized it.

Afterwards, Ruby told her HUD to display the current location of Weiss. At birth, a tracer was put into both Weiss and Winter because of all the kidnappings that were happening at that time. Only Mr. Schnee himself could access it, but that had become an untrue statement, as Ruby had broken through his firewall easily. WBY was in Vale, and that was a place to start.

Ruby quickly made her way to Weiss' location, getting a vantage point on top of a nearby rooftop. She pulled out her new, sleeker Crescent Rose, and expanded it into sniper form.

Instead of looking like the original, she now had the tech to make it look more like a sniper rifle. The rifle itself became the blade, the actual blade inside of the gun, while the stock expanded into the handle. The barrel also had a grenade launcher attached to it to blow shit up.

She aimed her weapon at bus WBY was on, and fired a few rounds at the tires.

WBY had been on a bus for a while, hoping to get Weiss out of the kingdom. "This Perseus chick knows us." Blake broke the silence.

"What makes you say that?" Weiss asked.

"She knows so much about us. It can't be for no reason."

"I think I know why." Yang said. "Whoever this chick is, she has an obsession with Ruby."

"Why would you think that?" Blake asked.

"Weiss and I met her before. She brought up Ruby. I think she's working with the woman on the speakers. She implied some of the same things."

A loud crack went off, and the bus swerved, crashing into a nearby building. WBY heard a loud thud, and the familiar voice of Perseus, "Weiss Schnee!" She shouted, "You are under arrest for the murder of Ruby Rose. Come out with your hands up. I will not hesitate to shoot you."

Weiss turned to her teammates, "I have a plan."

Weiss soon emerged from the bus, her hands behind her head. Perseus moved towards her, reaching for her throat. Weiss disappeared, Blake appearing with her several feet away.

"Shadow clones." Perseus said. "I will not fall for the same trick twice." Then, Yang came out and tried to attack Perseus, who dove under the blonde's punches, kicking her in her weak points. Yang went down, and Blake attacked next. Perseus blocked Gambol Shroud with her katana. Blake noticed this; Perseus fought defense.

"Weiss! Go!" Blake told her friend. "She's pure defense and knows our weaknesses."

Weiss began sprinting away. "You've called this upon yourselves." Perseus told Blake. "Penny. The woman who killed Ruby is getting away."

A bullhead flew over head almost immediately, dropping a certain robo-ginger. Penny prepared her weapons, readying them to fire a giant beam.

"Blake! Yang! Stand down!" She shouted. "Miss Perseus is a high-ranking military officer!" Yang launched Perseus into a nearby store.

"I don't care, Penny." She said. "Weiss did not kill Ruby."

Blake aimed her pistol mechanism at Perseus, who activated stealth mode in response, and went after Weiss. Perseus deactivated stealth mode once she was a good ways down the street and equipped her rifle, firing grenades after the heiress.

Cars were launched off the street, smashing into shops, and crushing innocent people. Perseus returned Crescent Rose to her back, equipping her arm blaster, she fired at the ground, and kicked the rubble that came up towards Weiss. The rubble smashed into Weiss' back, knocking her down. Perseus marched over to Weiss, picking her up by the throat, she slammed her into a wall.

"Who aided you in the murder of Ruby Rose?" Perseus asked.

"I didn't— I didn't kill her!"

"LIAR!" Perseus pulled out her handgun and pressed it against Weiss' chin. "Tell me or your brains will be all over this fucking wall!"

A/N: I'm going to end the chapter here, because I want to hear your input. Should Weiss die?

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	6. Civil War Trailer

Perseus walked down a decimated street, extending her katanas into view. Light gleamed  
ominously off the blades, foreshadowing…

 _Stars fall at my feet, keep me grounded as I reach._

Blake swings her sword, aiming to slice Perseus' head off, but she easily blocks with the mere raise of her hand.

 _Higher than I see, is there something there for me?  
_  
Ironwood stares defiantly ahead, waiting.

 _Pulling back the reins, letting go again… I'm not afraid, I'm not._

Perseus grasped Weiss by her throat, pressing her pistol against her chin.

 _All my life, one page at a time. I'll show you my, my true colors._

Perseus faces Yang. They stare each other down, both ready.

 _No, I won't apologize for the fire in my eyes.  
_  
Yang explodes, her rage causing her Semblance to heat up. Fire licked her blonde hair, and her eyes blazed red.

 _Let me show you my, my true colors, it ain't no rainbow.  
_  
Perseus killed a Beacon student. Blood was splattered everywhere.

 _A promise with a lie, is broken by design._

Ruby repairs her broken suit. Now fully functioning, she grabs her weapons to prepare for battle.

 _What we thought we knew, has been swallowed by the truth.  
_  
Yang and Blake stand shocked. Their eyes open wide, they stare straight ahead.

 _It's time to light the flame, right before it rains. I'm not afraid, I'm not._

Ruby and Jaune stare each other down. Both are strangely calm.

 _All my life, one page at a time I'll show you my, my true colors  
_  
Jaune stares defiantly at the rest of his team.

 _No, I won't apologize for the fire in my eyes. Let me show you my, my true colors, it ain't no rainbow...  
_  
"You're either with her, or you're with me!" Jaune states to his team.

 _Something tells me, I know nothing at all. We've escaped our capture.  
_  
Jaune and Pyrrha battle it out, dodging one another's attacks. Their fight of sword and shield continues, each side refusing to give any openings for the other to take.

 _Yet we have our masters, And somehow it's like I've waited.  
_  
"You need to call her off, James!" Ozpin shouts. He faces the general, but his old friend just stares back at him.

 _All my life, one page at a time, I'll show you my, my true colors._

With a broken helmet, Perseus fights Glynda. Their unique fighting styles try to win dominance over the fight.

 _No I won't apologize for the fire in my eyes.  
_  
Ruby covered her face with her dark hood.

 _Let me show you my, my true colors, it ain't no rainbow.  
_  
War is coming.

 **A/N: I'm going to take my sweet ass time with this next arc, write all of it before I release it, but until then, you'll get bad ass trailers like this one! BTW; the song is True Colors by Zedd.**

 **Edited by DemonFoxBK201**


	7. The Funeral

Perseus started to squeeze the trigger, but was knocked off her feet by Yang.

"She's innocent!" The blonde shouted out.

She brutally punched Perseus in the face, Ember Celica equipped, causing cracks to spread across her mask. Just before Yang delivered the final blow that would destroy the only barrier between her and the truth, she heard the familiar sound of cocking guns behind her.

"Yang Xiao Long! Freeze!" Turning around, Yang saw that she was surrounded by Atlesian military personnel. Gunshots were fired, felling the robotic soldiers, the Vale military were the ones that shot them. They stood, with their guns at ready, waiting for orders.

Perseus jabbed Yang with her foot, forcing her back. Team JNPR arrived just in time to see it happening. Springing into action, Pyrrha kicked the cybernetic soldier with all her strength, slamming her into the concrete. The road gave way as Perseus' body dug into the street, creating a trail behind her as she slid down the street.

Perseus tried to stand, but her prosthetics locked up from the damage, causing her to fall to the ground. Penny saw this, quickly sending her swords towards Pyrrha. She pushed them back with her Semblance. The wires entangled around Penny's arms, slicing straight through her. Penny fell to the ground in pieces.

Perseus screamed in rage, pushing herself up with her human arm. Weiss marched over to the damaged soldier and kicked her back down harshly. Afterwards, Yang went over and picked her up by her neck.

"Why are you going through so much trouble for this?" The blonde asked, furious red eyes staring into Perseus' masked silver eyes.

"I see a lot of myself in your late sister; we both just want to do the right thing." Perseus answered, her legs and right arm limp with damage. Her flesh arm gripped Yang's in an attempt to lessen the pressure on her throat.

"Ever think that you might've blurred the line between right and wrong?" Blake asked, walking up to Yang's side.

"Dust, Blake." Yang said. "I got this." The cat faunas put her hands up in surrender before backing up. "Ever think you might've blurred the lines between right and wrong?" Yang asked, copying her friend, earning a slightly annoyed sigh from her teammate.

"No, I haven't." Perseus said in a blank tone.

Yang suddenly released Perseus, and she fell limply to the floor. "Jaune, get her out of here. I think she just called in backup." She said, glancing around at the abandoned streets.

"Me?" Jaune squeaked. "I may have improved since Initiation, but putting me with a cyborg-killer is like asking me to commit suicide!" Yang turned to him, Ruby's former cloak fluttering with the sudden movement, from its perch on her shoulders.

"Her right arm and both her legs are prosthetic. They're broken. You'll be fine." She explained.

Jaune sighed and began to drag Perseus off. He stopped in a shadowed alley, leaning against the wall. He was completely unaware that Perseus' limbs were silently repairing themselves.

Soon after, Jaune could hear sharp gunshots and resounding explosions in the distance. He could faintly hear a bullhead coming closer over the sounds of battle.

Just outside the alley a bullhead landed, seven soldiers jumping out to run over at Jaune. Out of instinct and growing panic, Jaune grabbed the collar of Perseus' shirt, and began to run in the opposite direction. She grabbed his arm and swung him around, right into the receiving end of her taser. The blonde boy grunted in surprise and pain before collapsing onto the ground. The soldiers ran to him and threw him into the bullhead, one gentlemanly soldier helping Perseus into the ship.

Months Ago…

WBY, JNPR, Sun, Neptune, and CFVY, along with Taiyang and Qrow, were all attended Ruby's funeral.

They were "burying" Ruby right next to Summer upon Taiyang's sullen request.

Jaune felt a horrible sinking feeling when he first saw Ruby's casket.

It was mostly polished wood with a golden trim. Ruby's rose symbol on the sides and top was colored a brilliant gold.

Resting against the casket was a picture of the girl. She was laughing. The picture had clearly been professionally taken. Probably family photos. He had seen a similar picture with both Ruby and Yang, the blonde had been tightly hugging the younger sister, when JNPR had gone to comfort WBY.

Speaking of family, why wasn't Ruby's mother at the funeral? Jaune around, spotting the tombstone just beside Ruby's casket.

"Summer Rose

Thus Kindly I Scatter."

Jaune put two-and-two together: Ruby's mom was dead. But by how cheery Ruby had usually been, Jaune could tell that Summer had died many, many years ago.

Jaune looked down at the little funeral brochure, and saw more pictures of Ruby. He immediately slammed the pamphlet shut, gripping the paper tight. Almost every part of him wanted to cry, to grieve for his friend. The Arc part of him refused to let that happen. His father raised him to never cry, because he was told crying was for gays and women, and he was neither.

However, Ruby was his first friend… Ever. Growing up, no one had wanted anything to do with his socially-awkward, wimpy self, not even his own father.

His mother was the only person on the entirety of Remnant that cared whether he lived or died, but then Ruby came along. When he screwed everything up in the first semester, she just sort of swooped in and saved the day.

After her little "nope" speech, as he dubbed it, the two leaders had begun to confide in one another.

"What makes a hero?" She once asked. This stumped Jaune. In all honesty, it depends on the opinion of who you ask.

"I dunno." He had told her. "I guess... a hero could be anyone." He said dumbly. "Even a teenage girl who convinced her peer that he hadn't really ruined everything. Who told him that he mattered. That he was no longer a failure, because he couldn't be."

Remembering this conversation of the past, Jaune could no longer hold it all back. The tears began to fall, little droplets of water that did nothing to help him. He wanted to scream, to let out all of his anger and sadness. He wanted to break something, crush something, destroy anything. He wanted to go back into Emerald Forest and brutally tear the Grimm apart for doing this to such a sweet, innocent girl.

In Jaune's peripherals, he saw someone sit down beside him, and felt them put an arm around him. He turned his head and saw Pyrrha, her red hair standing in stark contrast to her black dress. Red hair that was similar, yet not at all like Ruby's.

"Are you okay, Jaune?" She asked. He ignored her question and returned his gaze to the, suddenly very interesting, grass. After a few minutes, he finally answered.

"No, I'm not okay. I can't be okay. My best friend is dead and there's nothing I can do about it." He bluntly told his partner.

"Maybe that's why you shouldn't worry about it so much." She told him with a soft voice. Jaune sent an angry glance at her. "It's not like it's your fault, there's nothing you could have done." She said. Once that didn't stop his grieving, she gave up. She stood and walked away, muttering in an annoyed manner. Jaune could barely make out any of what she was saying, but he only needed to hear "waste" and "space" to understand clearly what Pyrrha had said. She had called Ruby a waste of space.

Jaune clenched his fists and bit his tongue harshly to stop himself from getting into fight he couldn't win. He had half a mind to throw her off the barren cliff, a quarter to kick her ass. The remaining quarter said, "You do anything to her, and you land yourself in federal 'ram-you-in-the-ass' prison."He, instead, stood and turned to the direction Pyrrha had gone.

"What'd you say?" He asked. She stopped in her tracks.

"What do you mean?" She turned back around, clearly acting as though she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Cut the crap." He said gruffly. "You know what I'm talking about." Not wanting to make a scene at a funeral, he walked up to her and lowered his voice to a volume that only he a Pyrrha could hear. He pressing his cheek against the side of her head, whispering to her in a dangerous voice. "If you ever call Ruby a waste of space again, I will break your fucking neck and toss you off the nearest cliff. Now get the fuck out before I tell Yang what you said." Pyrrha stormed off, plastering a mournful face on.

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	8. Project Pegasus

While they were putting Jaune in the bullhead, one of the soldiers forced a bag onto his head.

Once Jaune regained consciousness, he found that the bag had been taken off. Jaune was disoriented from the effects of the taser, but he managed to make out a table and chair in the dark room. Soon after his awakening, a stern-faced Ironwood entered the room. A bright light flashed on, blinding Jaune, and making the room look like an integration room.

He sat down across from Jaune then slowly, so the disoriented blonde could understand his words, he said, "You're fighting for the wrong side."

Jaune tilted his aching head. His Aura was quickly removed the taser's after-effects, but even so he thought he must've heard wrong. "Excuse me?" He asked.

"Beacon is unwilling to give up the criminals that belong to the Atlas military, it means war. Which side are you on?" Ironwood said, straightening himself out, he meant business.

"Beacon." Jaune didn't hesitate. It was the side his friends were on. "It's the team Ruby would have fought for." He sternly told the general, who raised his chin.

"Is that so?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, the only hint of surprise on his face. Jaune nodded.

Perseus' decimated helmet hit the table with a thud, and Perseus herself stepped out of the shadows, revealing her smirking face to her blonde friend. Jaune froze in shock, then smiled, tears pricked at his eyes.

"You're alive." He said softly. "You're a bad-guy, but you're alive." Ruby tilted her head, in an all too familiar manner. "We're not the bad guys." She said, stern-faced. "We know the truth. Weiss and Pyrrha tried to kill me, and as you can see, they failed."

"Pyrrha wouldn't…" Jaune instantly said, trying to stand, but failing as his restraints forced him back down.

"I've got this, General Ironwood." Ruby said, saluting, giving him the cue to leave. Once he was gone, Ruby slammed her hands down on the table, causing cracks to splinter across the wood. Her eyes glowed an ominous white, and the table froze around her hands.

"Were you there, Jaune!?" She yelled in anger, voice getting louder with each word she said. "Did Pyrrha take YOUR fucking arm off?!" As she said this, she tore the armor off of her metallic right arm, showing him the permanent damage Pyrrha had done. "I was just a kid!" She yelled, slamming her head against the wall. "I had the whole world going for me…" She spoke, quieter, but raised her voice soon after, "But Pyrrha and Weiss took all that away!"

"Ruby…" He said in shock. "I understand... why you're angry—hell, I would be, too—but revenge isn't the answer…"

"Then what is?" She asked, so quiet he could barely hear her. Her fingers slowly curled into a fist, shaking from barely concealed rage.

"Prison." He told her in a gruff voice. The fact that not only Pyrrha of all people, but also Weiss had done something so horrible… And to the sweet and innocent Ruby to top it all off.

"That isn't enough!" Ruby yelled, turning back around. "They need to suffer! They need to know what it's like to be cut down in cold blood, and have their loved ones lied to about what happened! Did you even suspect that Weiss was lying?!"

Jaune shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Ruby. You were—still are—my friend. Those first few weeks after… everything happened, were the most painful of my life. You cared about me, and I cared about you. You were my best friend. I loved you like a sister. If you come back to Beacon and testify against them, you'll get your life back, but if you kill them, I don't know if the same will happen." He tried to convince near to stop, but he already knew what her answer was going to be. His best friend had changed, for the worst.

"No, Jaune." She softly said, anger still present in her voice. She glared at him, wanting him to see her reasoning, but knowing he was to kind to do so. "I can't go back. Not after all I've done." She looked down at the ground and whispered, "Mom would be ashamed."

Jaune slammed his hands down. "No!" He yelled defiantly. "You said yourself! You were just a kid! You still are! Of all people, your mother wouldn't be ashamed of you! I never met her, but if I had to guess, it probably tears her up inside to see you like this. Wherever she is. Your mother probably wants to tear Weiss and Pyrrha apart just as badly as I do, but we both know it's the wrong thing to do." He looked down at the ground. "I've made a lot of mistakes, Rubes. But I won't let that stop me from trying to help you. I don't support killing, but I do support bringing them to justice." Ruby tilted her head in his direction, but only slightly. "And it doesn't seem like Beacon will let that happen, so I will gladly fight and die for you."

After recovering from shock, Ruby walked over to him and ripped his handcuffs off, setting him free. She then hugged him, a soft smile spreading across her face. "It's so good to see you, Vomit Boy." She smugly told him, voice soft.

"You too, Crater Face." He shot back.

[Beacon Academy, Vale. 0200 hours before initial battle]

"Mr. Arc has been captured." Ozpin told The remainders of RWBY and JNPR, who were being debriefed in his office.

"Captured?" Weiss asked, still worrying about the stability of Remnant.

"The Atlesian Military has all but declared war on Vale." Ozpin said. "Negotiations will start soon." As if on cue, Ironwood stepped off of the elevator, receiving dirty looks from WBY and NPR.

"Oz." he said. "The boy is now in our custody on his own accord. He is operating within Project Pegasus."

"Pegasus?" Ozpin asked, in shock from the sudden revelation. "Does it have any relation to Perseus?" Much to his dismay and growing dread, James nodded.

"Perseus is in charge of Pegasus. I'm simply speaking on the behalf of Perseus. Hand over the prisoners to their respective Kingdoms, and there will be no trouble."

"Prisoners?" Ozpin asked, hope becoming dread. "As in plural?"

"Yes. Ms. Nikos is also a suspect." James explained. "And Mystral has decided to side with Atlas in this affair. Failure to return the prisoners to their respective kingdoms could result in a civil conflict."

"I will not send them away against their wills." Ozpin said, standing.

"They're minors, Oz. What they want doesn't matter." James angrily said. "Hand them over, or Perseus will begin her route through Beacon."

Ozpin quickly pulled out his scroll, sending a fast message to the teachers of the school. "Don't let any Atlesian personnel on campus." He said suddenly, looking over to WBY and NPR. "Eliminate Perseus if she tries to enter the school." He said darkly. The two teams ran off, and Ozpin returned his focus to Ironwood. "If she enters this school, it will be war. You need to call her off, James!" Ozpin said, raising his voice. He stared at his old friend, hoping, but Ironwood just stared back, then turned and left.

"Perseus." He said, while knowing Ozpin was still in earshot. "Move in."

"Yes, sir." Perseus said in answer, dropping from a bullhead onto Beacon grounds. She hit the ground on her toes, one hand on the floor to balance her. Jaune hit the ground face-first beside her. A muffled "Umph!" came from him, while Perseus let out a small sigh, face-palming.

Jaune wore something similar to what Perseus wore; black armor. His armor was the same as Ruby's except he didn't wear a mask, and he didn't have as many weapons as she did. He just had Crocea Mors and a handgun. The students of Beacon gave them odd looks, unsure as to what was happening. Perseus soon made their purpose clear, lunging forward, she sliced the throat of one of the students, splattering blood on the ground.

"Anyone want to tell me where Weiss Schnee is?" She said darkly, facing the students. An ominous smile came to her face, projected onto her mask, and frightening some of the students.

"I'm here." Weiss said confidently, sauntering into the circle. NPR, and the remainder of RWBY were close behind her.

When Pyrrha saw Jaune, she readied Miló, "Traitor." She said, gritting her teeth. A look of disgust spread onto her face. Jaune looked at Ren and Nora. He wasn't angry, but it looked like he was pleading them not to fight. "Ren." He said. "Nora. If Pyrrha was truly innocent, why would she so strongly oppose being tried? Now, I'm going to let you decide… You're either with her, or you're with me. There is no neutral." When Ren and Nora didn't immediately decline, Yang glanced at them, shocked. The two looked at one another, considering their options. Ren knew that he was the one making the actual decision, because no matter what he chose, Nora would be right beside him.

"I trust your judgement, Jaune." He finally said, approaching his leader. "You have yet to prove me wrong. So don't start now." Much to everyone's surprise, Nora did not follow. She stood in the space in between Jaune and Pyrrha. It took her a few minutes to decide, but soon enough, with a saddened glance at Pyrrha, she walked to Ren's side.

"Both of you?" Pyrrha asked, looking hurt.

Jaune unsheathed his sword, and pointed it at Pyrrha, before unhooking his shield, extending it to hold it in front of his face. "I've got Nikos." He told Perseus.

She responded with, "I've got Xiao Long." Within seconds, all the students had cleared out, fearing what would happen when Yang was angered.

"I'm excited to see what new government gadget you've got now." The blonde teased, extending Ember Celica.

"Nothing today, sorry." Perseus shot back, entertaining the brawler. "Just fists."

"Ooo~." Yang said with a smirk. "Kinky."

Perseus began to quickly move towards Yang, leaping in the air, fist raised above her head. She came down on top of Yang, who caught her fist and slammed her into the concrete. Perseus immediately got to her feet, swinging punches and blocking Yang's attacks. Soon, the cybernetic soldier had the blonde pinned to the ground by the throat.

"You don't have to fight us." She told the blonde. "We're not doing anything immoral. We're not doing anything that will insult your sister's memory. We're taking them to court, where your sister herself will testify against them."

Yang threw Perseus off, shouting, "Liar!" Her semblance flared, lighting her hair on fire and turning her eyes blood red. Yang screamed in rage and charged Perseus, firing off rounds from Ember Celica as she went.

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	9. Pyrrha

Perseus blocked each of Yang's heavy blows, the force from the impact cracking the ground beneath her. Yang had so much brute strength behind it, that Perseus had to extend her shield in order to not be crushed. Taking the opportunity, she bashed the blonde directly in the face with it. Perseus unlatched her feet from the cracked ground and kicked Yang in the stomach, sending her stumbling back.

"Ruby's not gone." She grunted out, slapping one of Yang's shells away. "She's in our custody. Why do you think we're so sure about what happened?"

"If Ruby's been with you for so long, why didn't you arrest Weiss before now?" Yang shouted out, sending a series of shotgun-enhanced punches down on Perseus' shield.

"She's a Schnee." Perseus said in a bored tone, grunting under the heavy rain of blows. "We couldn't use Rose as the primary source of Schnee and Nikos' proof, she would have been killed to defend the Schnee name."

"Why don't I believe you?" Yang asked, sending a particularly strong punch to her opponent. She was knocked back slightly, and her shield left a small opening to take. Yang didn't hesitate; landing a devastating blow on her Perseus' face. Perseus flew back, her mask cracking from the force.

Perseus got to her feet, a hand on her cracked mask. "Because you don't want to admit that the person you defended killed your adoptive daughter." She said in an annoyed tone.

"You're lying." Yang said defiantly. "I just know it." The blonde strode over to the cybernetic soldier. "Come here you fucking Arkham Knight ripoff." She taunted. Briefly overwhelmed by curiousity, Perseus looked down at her armor, attempting to see what Yang was talking about. In response, she was slammed into a wall. Yang began to maliciously slam her fists into the cyber-soldier's face mask. They could both hear the sound of breaking metal.

Yang stopped when she saw blood running out of the mask, down Perseus' neck. She pulled her arm back to finish the fight with a final blow to the throat, but Perseus' shield intercepted the hit once more. Repeating the blog from before, she bashed the blonde in the face with the slightly cracked shield. Perseus fired her blaster at Yang's feet, launching the blonde across campus, unconscious before she even landed.

While Perseus had been fighting Yang, Jaune fought Pyrrha. They both swung their weapons at one another, blocking or parrying each hit, showing a remarkable increase in Jaune's strength. Neither side left an opening for their opponent to take. The exchange of blows would never have ended if Perseus hadn't intervened, stepping in and knocking Pyrrha off her feet, aiming an Aura-piercing pistol at her head. Perseus kneeled down to the fallen warrior, sliding her mask off, allowing Pyrrha to know the truth.

"Oh my God." Pyrrha said, her voice full of fear and horror. "You have to understand! It wasn't personal!" Pyrrha said quickly, pleading for her life, "He said he'd kill me if I didn't!"

"Who?" Ruby asked suspiciously, a smile stretched onto her face before she put her mask back on, preventing someone else from seeing her.

"I–I… He'll kill me…" Pyrrha said miserably.

"Either I kill you, or he does! CHOOSE!" Ruby pressed the pistol against Pyrrha's temple, sending a shudder down the redhead's spine. "These are aura-piercing rounds; they'll break your aura as soon as I pull the trigger, do you really want that?" Pyrrha shook her head, tears forming in her eyes.

"I can't!" She said pleadingly.

"You can." Ruby muttered ominously. Showing no mercy or sympathy, she pistol-whipped Pyrrha. A stream of fresh blood ran down her face. She brought the gun to Pyrrha's stomach, and pulled the trigger. The redhead screamed in pain, her armor, Aura, and resolve being shot through all at once. "How can you live with yourself?" Ruby asked, picking her up by the throat and slamming her against the wall, shoving the gun under her chin.

"Just earlier today, I had Weiss in the same position. She told me the names of everyone involved." Ruby realized that just pointing the gun at Pyrrha wasn't quite enough, she aimed the weapon at Jaune, regardless of having no intentions of shooting him. She let him know that he was not in danger telepathically through his earpiece. Jaune visibly relaxed, but Pyrrha wasn't in the right mind to solve the puzzle.

"Weiss' father!" Pyrrha shouted desperately. "He said that if we didn't kill you, he'd have us killed!"

"Do you know why?" Ruby asked. Pyrrha shook her head immediately, and Ruby pointed the gun back to her. "You were willing to kill someone so you didn't die, but you were also willing to die so someone else didn't," Ruby commented. "That's odd."

"You said you wouldn't kill me if I told you!" Pyrrha claimed in horror, scrabbling at arm that held her while looking down to the gun that was pinned against her throat.

"Nope!" Ruby said, pulling the trigger. A resounding BANG! filled the air. Perseus dropped Pyrrha's limp form, satisfied with the thud it made when it hit the ground.

"No!" Blake shouted from nearby, having arrived in time to see only the end of the altercation. Perseus ignored her, and shouted an order to the remainder of JNPR. Much to her surprise, Blake went after JNR rather than her.

"Take Schnee into custody. She can tell us where to find Mr. Schnee." She said, walking away, hoping that CRDL's stories matched Pyrrha's. They all did. CRDL was much easier to persuade than Pyrrha; they were all cowards. Each of them were burning in hell now, and this satisfied her.

When she returned to the courtyard, she found her friends unconscious, Glynda standing over them, a slightly miffed expression was on her face from seeing students betray their school.

Narrowing her eyes, Perseus got into a fighting stance. The moment Glynda took notice of her a massive piece of debris was flying at Perseus. Not seeing it until the last moment because it was from a decimated building behind her, the debris nailed her straight in the face, shattering the glass of her mask. She hit the ground with a thud, rolling onto her back from her momentum.

As the professor neared the still form of the soldier, she could hear the wheezing and gasps that was her form of breathing. She walked up and delivered a quick kick to the ribs, not caring for an Atlas soldier, hearing a loud crack as she did so.

Glynda could barely register the feeling of cold metal against her leg before a gunshot rang out, and she fell to her knees.

Recovering quickly, she jabbed her leg out, catching the soldier's ribs once more. A pained howl was let out, before a metal hand grabbed ahold of her outstretched leg. Gripped it harshly, Perseus barely took the time to aim before shooting, blowing five holes into her former teacher's leg. Hissing with pain, Glynda waved her riding crop, sending a tree from the side towards her assailant.

Perseus flipped over the offending plant, causing Glynda to lose sight of her attacker, and the to tree crash into the sidewalk a little ways away from Glynda. Gritting her teeth in pain and frustration, Glynda looked around her shockingly silent surroundings, attempting to find her target.

A cold, hard object touched her forehead. Her eyes widened in shock and surprise; she couldn't sense her at all! Silently cursing Ironwood, she closed her eyes in resignation. There was no way to escape, and no allies nearby. The shot tore through her skull, pushing chunks of her brain out the other side, splattering onto the pavement.

Once Glynda's body hit the ground, Ruby painfully stood, the debris she hadn't dodged had done a number on her already bruised face. Taking her helmet off, she ripped out her earpiece, and tossed her broken helmet to the ground without second thought. She pulled up her dark hood, covering her face. Replacing her earpiece, she activated her backup mask.

It came up from her neck armor plates, wrapping around her head, covering her mouth, nose, and ears. Out of the top of the mask emerged a pair of high-tech, wraparound glasses. These worked similarly to her original mask, showing statistics and diagnostics. They also masked her distinctive, silver eyes. Not only did her new mask cover her face, it also acted as a gas mask and breathing apparatus.

Ruby looked down at her right arm; the armor on it was severely damaged. Her blaster had been decimated by the debris that Glynda had hit her with. She tore off the now dead weight that was the armor on that arm, revealing the shiny, silver prosthetic.

The sound of a pebble being misplaced filled the deafening silence. Ruby spun around, seeing Blake standing a few feet away. She hadn't seen anything, obviously by the way she looked at Ruby. Ruby only saw rage in her eyes. "You took them out." Perseus calmly said, gesturing to JNR, her voice distorter didn't sound too different from the one it replaced. "I'm impressed."

"You killed Pyrrha." Blake said, scowling.

"I did." Perseus drew her swords, extending them, she began a slow walk towards Blake.

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	10. Schnee

Perseus walked towards Blake, readying her blades. She lunged forward, stabbing her left katana towards her former friend. Blake immediately unsheathed Gambol Shroud, blocking Perseus' first attack. Blake sent a kick at the soldier, pushing her back. The wind knocked the dark hood down, revealing her hair, which had been dyed completely black long ago.

Yang and Weiss rushed in from either side, weapons at ready. Perseus flipped over their attacks, and they slammed into one another. Yang took a small stab wound from Myrtenaster, brushing it off as her Aura healed it quickly. Weiss however, was sent flying after receiving a shotgun enhanced punch from Ember Celica. She struggled to get back on her feet, a large red mark on the side of her face. Weiss was gritting her bloodied teeth while she glared at Perseus.

"Does anyone want to know what Nikos told me before she died?" Perseus asked.

"You mean before you killed her?" Blake shouted indignantly.

"She told me why she and Weiss here did what their little deed." Perseus smugly said, ignoring Blake's comment. Before she could continue on, Weiss used her Dust to send a column of jagged ice at her, the entirety of which, she dodged.

"She's lying!" The heiress screamed defiantly.

Yang gripped Weiss' shoulder tighter than she had ever gripped anything before, a surprisingly stern expression, looking foreign on the blonde's face, not giving anything of what she was thinking away.

"I want to hear this before I go with the wrong side." She said in a borderline cold voice. Weiss looked at her with a look of betrayal.

"Say it!" Yang told Perseus. "Before I change my mind."

"Nikos told me that Mr. Schnee threatened to kill her if she didn't. I want to know why. I just want to interrogate Schnee. I've done it before. Last time she gave me names. Now I want motives and locations." Perseus said bluntly.

"I don't trust her." Blake said, starting to stalk towards Perseus.

"You don't have to; I have everything I need." Perseus said, leaping into the air, the sun blinding her former teammates briefly. The sun was setting behind her, creating a sky of warm hues. A stark contrast to the cold silver eyes that stared down at WBY.

Perseus touched down in a bullhead nearby. It had been hovering above Beacon grounds silently, hiding behind some the many stone arches of the school.

"Hold your fire." Perseus barked to Nora, who was sitting on the turret. A shockingly cold expression was on her face, mirroring Perseus. Jaune was laid out on the bench, still unconscious from his encounter with Glynda. Perseus climbed into the cockpit, sitting down beside Ren.

"I don't know why Jaune trusts you so much." He said, breaking the silence, "But I trust him and his judgement."

"Do you wish to know why he trusts me?" Perseus asked, staring at him. Ren glanced over at her.

"What?" He asked. Her mask retracted back into her neckpiece. Her silver eyes stared at Ren, and her familiar face was on display.

"Oh, wow." Nora said, peeking into the cockpit.

"Why am I not surprised?" Ren asked, calm as ever, grinning slightly. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Ruby." Ruby chuckled at his joke, rolling her eyes.

"How's Jaune?" She asked in her real voice.

"Professor Goodwitch beat the hell out of him, but he'll be fine." Ren said, his face going back to its normal, stoic look. After a few moments of silence, he asked, "Where to, now?"

Ruby pulled out Weiss' scroll. She had nabbed it when Weiss was distracted, using her suit's shadow clone ability. Her clone had been the one talking, while she had snatched the device. Having a clone talk was easier than having them stealthily steal something from an antsy Schnee. She pulled up Weiss' contacts and began to type to the heiress' father.

"Father, I've been named the prime suspect in the murder of Ruby Rose. I would like our help to work this out." She sent. He immediately answered.

"Now you need my help, insufferable girl?"

"Yes. Please. We can work out our problems after this has blown over."

"Very well then. Meet me in my office tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Father."

Ruby pocketed the communication device, and turned to Ren.

"The Schnee Dust Company." She told him. The stoic man nodded and sharply turned the ship in the night sky, heading in the direction of Atlas.

"Perseus!" Ironwood's voice boomed in her ear.

"Yes sir?" She asked.

"Where are you?" He said. He didn't sound angry, so she wasn't worried.

"I'm about to finish my mission to apprehend all those responsible for the murder of Ruby Rose." She said in monotone.

"Why did you let Schnee go?" He asked.

"She was merely a representative of the Schnee Dust Company. Her father was the mind behind the operation. I'm on my way to apprehend him."

"You will do no such thing!" He ordered.

"I don't see why not." She said, seemingly angry.

"Your orders were to arrest Weiss Schnee and bring her to me, so she could be transported to Schnee himself. While I'm sure it's to prove her innocent, there's nothing I can do about it. As much as I threatened Ozpin, an all out war is not in my best interest." Ironwood said, sounding somewhat disappointed in himself.

"This is something I can do, and because of it, I will not let Schnee get away with this." She told him, knowing what would happen if she went against his orders.

"Very well then." He said, then the affirmation of her thoughts came, "But you are to do this without any affiliation to the Atlesian Military. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Ruby sighed.

The comms closed and Ruby stood, moving to the back of the bullhead, where Jaune lay. Nora had closed the side doors, the only light coming in was that from the cockpit and the windows on the doors. Ruby kneeled down beside Jaune and began to nudge him until he began to stir.

"Jaune." She said. He groaned in response, flopping over onto his side. "Do you think you can aid me with one final mission?"

He sat up, looking at her. "I just joined you. Why would this be the last mission?" He asked, sounding groggy.

"Because once we finish this one, people will come looking for us. And they won't stop. Ever. We will be fugitives. Every kingdom will want to kill us."

"What are we doing exactly?" Nora asked, leaning against the door.

"We're going to kill the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company." Ruby said, turning to the ginger. "You guys don't have to, if—"

"I'm in." Jaune cut her off.

"Me too." Nora cheerfully announced.

"I as well." Ren added from the cockpit. Ruby smirked.

"Let's fucking do this." She said.

It took them a few hours of flying before they reached Atlas, being able to see the SDC building from miles away. It was a true beacon of capitalism.

"Circle the building." Ruby told Ren. "We need to find an entry point." She expanded her mask over her face, pulling up the building's blueprints and security layout for weak points to exploit. She also checked the appointments the man had. He had set Weiss for half an hour from now.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, and there were many cars filling the streets, all rushing to get to their mundane jobs and continue with their insignificant lives. Ruby glanced at her watch, noting that it was 7:18 in the morning. How long had they been in the air?

Ruby patted Jaune's shoulder, and dove out the window, landing on the building's heli-pad. A few Atlesian robots began to move towards her, but she immediately shut them down. They hit the ground with a metallic clank, before falling off the side of the landing pad. Ruby began her slow stroll to the door that she knew housed Mr. Schnee himself; the man who had ordered her to be killed.

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	11. Taiyang

Perseus kicked in the door to Schnee's office, and saw that it was apparently empty; the only sign that anyone was there was the desk chair that had been turned around, to allow the magnificent view of the city to be visible.

"Weiss—" A voice that spoke of massive authority began, only to get cut off by Perseus.

"Weiss is not here." The Schnee spun around, his face twisted into a scowl.

"Where is she?" He demanded.

Perseus tossed him Weiss' scroll, he caught it, noting the snowflake emblem on the back. "She had always been the weakest. Killed her, have you?" He asked, now smirking psychotically. Perseus shook her head.

"No. Yang is making it hard." She said.

"I suppose you're here about Miss Rose, yes?" He asked, seemingly without care. She did not answer, instead, she disappeared in a flash of rose petals. She reappeared directly in front of him, then picked him up by the throat. She kicked his chair through the window effortlessly.

The small crystals of glass fell on the street below. She held him out over the edge, ripping her mask off. "I want to know why!" She demanded, her voice full of venom.

"My guards will be here soon." He calmly said, not in the slightest bit fazed.

"No, they won't. They've all been taken care of." Through the main door came the speaker, Jaune, and Nora. Ren landed the bullhead on the heli-pad outside.

"I'm going to ask once more." Ruby said hatefully. "Why?!" When she asked, she tightened her grip on his throat.

"The Rose family is dangerous!" He shouted, suddenly panicked. He was looking down at the street below, now fully realizing the threat in front of him.

"What does that mean?!" Ruby shouted over the deafening noise of the wind, extending her reach, and hanging him further away from the safety of the floor.

"The Rose family! They— They all have silver eyes!" He frantically shouted. Ruby could hear the shouting of the Schnee guards coming down the hall. She shot a dirty look at Jaune and brought her helmet back up.

"Talk and walk!" She told Schnee, bringing him back in the building, she began to march towards the door, motioning for Ren to start up the bullhead.

[Months Ago]

When Weiss and Pyrrha arrived at the bullhead, Yang jumped on the heiress, asking if Ruby was okay. Weiss just faked crying, answering Yang's question. Yang didn't look hurt, angry, or sad like they imagined she would, she looked dead inside.

"I found this." Weiss held out Ruby's cloak, placing it in the blonde's hands. It became very apparent to her that Yang was in shock of just having lost the most important person in her life. Tears began to fall down the brawler's face. She sat down against the far wall, bringing her knees to her face, and just cried. Coco, Velvet, and Blake tried to comfort her, but she wasn't having it.

Once she the three left her alone, Yang's thoughts drifted to Ruby's childhood, making her heart hurt. Her thoughts drifted from birthday-to-birthday, up until fifteen. Yang remembered when Ruby began training with Qrow. She remembered when Ruby got her cloak. She remembered the similarities between her little sister and Summer. It had been roughly thirty minutes since the last time Yang saw Ruby alive, and yet she already missed her. She wanted her little sister back.

When the broken remnants of Team RWBY arrived at their dorm, Yang began to shove all of her stuff into a suitcase.

"What are you doing, Yang?" Blake asked, her voice shaky. She also wanted to cry, Ruby was a good friend. Ruby had been the first to accept her past, and the first of the team to accept that she was a Faunus. Why had she done that? Blake had always wondered, it wasn't until Ruby died that she finally understood it; Ruby did it simply because Blake was her friend before she was anything.

"I'm gonna go home for a bit." Yang weakly said. "I'll be back, don't worry."

By the time Yang arrived at Patch, her eyes were red, and stung to the touch. When she got home, her father had already been told what had happened that day. He had also been told that there had been no body. Just like Summer. The only thing he had gotten back of Summer was her white cloak.

He had planned on giving this to Ruby for her eighteenth birthday. He knew that Ruby would either never take it off, clinging to the only piece of her mother, or never put it on, worrying that she would damage it.

When Yang came home, he had gotten drunk and passed out in the recliner. In his lap sat all the professionally-taken family pictures they had from every year. Yang carefully picked each one up, silently putting them back in their places around the house, she laid Ruby's cloak on top of him. Yang then went to her bed, and tried to sleep.

When Qrow arrived two hours later, he froze, seeing Ruby's cloak draped over his friend/ex-brother-in-law. Worried for his niece, he dashed to her room, knowing that she wouldn't go too far without her cloak. And he became worried when she wasn't there, either. Next, he looked in Yang's room, seeing the blonde asleep, her eyes red. The picture of her and Ruby that normally say on her nightstand was now face down, as if Yang didn't want to see her. Qrow slowly walked back into the living room and woke up Taiyang.

"Qrow?" He asked. "When did you get here?"

"Just now. Did something happen?" Qrow said.

"Yeah," Taiyang looked down. "The same thing that happened to Summer happened to Rubes."

"What do you mean?" Qrow asked, extremely worried at this point.

"She— she's gone." Taiyang said, breaking down. "Those damn monsters tore her apart."

Qrow had to sit down. When he had trained her, he knew this day would come, but he'd always imagined that it would be to save someone's life. Not in vain. From carelessness.

Qrow took a large swig from his flask, saying, "I'm not drunk enough for this." Taiyang nodded in agreement, taking the flask, and taking a swig. Qrow punched his arm.

"You still have to take care of the one in the other room. Don't forget that." He said. "She needs you. Don't shut down again." Taiyang nodded, handing the flask back.

"I guess we'll have to arrange a funeral first." He said, looking to one of the pictures of Ruby that rested on the mantle. She was laughing in front of a white backdrop. It was to the right of the group picture of Taiyang, Yang, and Ruby. The girls were sitting in front of him, and he stood behind them, his hands on their shoulders. To the left of that picture was a picture of Yang, who was also laughing.

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	12. Interrogation

Ruby threw the head Schnee against the wall, a loud cracking sound echoed through the bullhead, making the three others cringe. Ruby drove her foot into the man's ribs, making him cry out in pain. She cocked her foot back, but didn't kick him again.

"By my count there are still nine more ribs I can break! Speak!" She shouted.

"Bitch!" He shrieked. She kicked him again in response. He spit out blood. "You've gotta get tired at some point." He pointed out.

She looked at him weirdly, cocking her head, she said. "As if that's gonna happen." She jabbed him in the face with her toe. Ruby then picked him up by the throat, slamming him against the wall. "What do silver eyes mean?!" She demanded.

"It's the sign of a true warrior!" He said, trying to shield his face with his arms.

"You were scared?!" She threw him against the other wall. "Why were you scared of a fifteen year old girl?" She asked, grabbing him again. A loud thud rang through the bullhead as he was slammed against the wall once more.

"Summer Rose almost fucked up my company! I didn't want the same thing to happen again!" He said. She threw him to the ground, pinning him down, she asked another question.

"What happened with Summer Rose!?" She growled out.

"She almost uncovered some things about me that would have ruined the Schnee Dust Company! It wasn't personal!" He was obviously scared of her now, and that's how she wanted it. She picked him up, and smashed his skull against the door frame, barely not using enough force to knock him unconscious.

"What wasn't personal?!" She yelled. "You want teeth?! I want answers!"

"I had to have her killed! I didn't know she had a family until Weiss told me that she went to school with a Rose!" He shouted. "What more do you want? Money? Dust? Weapons? I can get you anything! Just name it!"

Ruby was didn't bother hiding the complete unadulterated rage from her expression. She put her mask back up, and opened the side door, hanging him out by the throat. "

You are no longer of any use to us!" She stated. They were no longer in Atlas, Ren was flying just above the ocean to avoid detection "This is for Ruby Rose!" She dropped him, letting him flail as he tried to grab onto the ship. Ruby immediately closed the door, not caring what happened to him.

[Elsewhere]

"Miss Schnee." Ozpin addressed. He had called Weiss to his office, despite the battle that raged on Beacon's borders. The Atlesian soldiers, human and robotic, tried to tear through the school's defenses, only to be taken down by the students. "I have just received word that your father has been murdered by an Atlesian commander."

"Let me guess," Weiss said in monotone. "Perseus?" The headmaster nodded.

"She has a knack for killing. Very impulsive. This is the same reason that most militaries only accept people over the age of eighteen." He stated, no emotion in his face or voice.

"What are you trying to say?" Weiss skeptically asked.

"I'm saying that, whoever Perseus is, she is young. And this is why they mask her identity." He said. "Whatever her reason is; she is very angry."

"What are you going to do if you capture her?" Weiss asked, sitting down.

"We're going to find out why she's so angry, and go from there." He told her, noting the barely hidden anger peaking through her blank expression.

"You're not going to send her to prison?" Weiss asked. "She killed Father. She killed Pyrrha. And she killed Professor Goodwitch! How could that be excused?!"

"James is a master manipulator. Who knows what he did to gain her full support." Was her reply.

Weiss stood and stormed off, "I'm going to find her." She muttered.

Ozpin said nothing, but simply sent messages to both Blake and Yang, telling them that they needed to walk with Weiss.

[Meanwhile]

"I want her dead!" Winter shouted. "I don't care what you have to do to kill her, just don't let anyone know who hired you!"

The six nodded, looking their former enemy in the eyes.

"May I ask who?" Roman asked. "You can't just start in the middle of a conversation and expect us to know who you're talking about."

"Right." Winter said, calmly down slightly. "Sorry. I've been reciting what I was going to say, and I guess I started at the wrong part." She paused. "Ironwood's Project Perseus. Kill her. She killed my father, so I will hire you to kill her."

[Shift]

"Once we make Weiss admit her sins," Ruby told the others. "This will be all over, and you can go back to your lives, and I'll… I'll find something."

"Can't you just let Yang know that you lived?" Jaune asked.

"Yes." Ruby said. "Let's go tell my sister that the person who's been trying to kill her friend, and who she herself has been trying to kill, is actually me: Her dead sister. I'm sure that'll work out." She scowled at Jaune, who looked down to his feet.

"Can we talk in private for a moment?" He asked Ren and Nora, who retreated into the cockpit, closing the door behind them. Ren had left the ship on autopilot so that he could be a part of the 'meeting' Ruby had called.

"I'm sorry about that." Jaune told Ruby once they were gone. "I just can't stand the thought of my friend having to go off and hide for the rest of her life, while I get to live her dream."

"I can't go back to Beacon, Jaune." She said, sadness was evident in her voice. "Not after everything I've done."

"Okay! Don't then!" He said. "Just know, that whatever you do, I'm coming with you."

She quickly stood, standing face-to-face with Jaune. She had expected him to flinch immediately, but he didn't; he just stood, his facial expression changing from defiant to calm. This removed the scowl from Ruby's face and replaced it with the same calm look he had.

"I won't let you isolate yourself. You're my best frien—" he was cut off by her lips crashing into his. His eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't reject the kiss. She began to pull away, breathing heavily, but he grabbed the back of her head, and returned the favor, this time, they both had their eyes closed. When they opened, their faces were only inches apart.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that." She told him, feeling Pyrrha cursing her from hell.

"That was hot." Nora said from the doorway, making both teens jump, their heads bashing together. Ruby almost fell over, but Jaune caught her.

"Nora!" Jaune said, not loosening his grip on Ruby's waist. "I said in private!"

"I know~!" Nora said, stretching out the 'O' syllable. "It's just, we've both been waiting for you two to do that since we met her." She turned back around, sitting down in the passenger seat. "Had us worried when you started spending time with Pyrrha."

"Did you guys make a gamble on my love life?" Jaune asked, glancing back over at Ruby, who was still hanging from his arm. Before Nora answered, Jaune realized his mistake and set Ruby upright, taking his hands off of her waist. Ruby wasn't exactly protesting to the position he had held her in, just silently blushing.

"Everyone except for Ruby and Pyrrha gave bets!" Nora said excitedly. "Ren and I bet on Ruby, because y'know, we like the whole, socially awkward couple thing. Yang bet on Pyrrha, but that's just because she didn't want you two to… Y'know…" Nora made a motion with her hands, her index finger going through a circle made by her other index finger and thumb.

This made Ruby blush even harder. She may have been a killing machine, but she was still a socially awkward teenage girl. "Weiss bet on Ruby because she wanted her to leave her alone. We know now that that was probably a warning sign, but we didn't know then, so it's okay. Blake bet on Pyrrha as well, because it was obvious that she had a crush on you. But it was also pretty obvious that you adored Ruby, and she thought you were pretty nice, so we could really see that going somewhere. If you know what I'm sayin'!"

"Bow Chicka Bow Wow." Ren said, briefly breaking his stoic personality to get Nora's point across.

"What?!" Ruby asked, getting the hint. "Ew ew ew ew ew! I'm too young for that! Ew!" Jaune smiled, surprised that, with every person who wronged her died, the more like her old self she became. Normally it didn't work that way. Jaune nudged Ruby, laughing.

"This makes that thing I said the other day about loving you like a sister really weird." He said.

"I just thought that's how your family worked." Ruby teased, making him shake his head.

"I do not support incest." He told her.

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	13. Blake

When Ruby 'died', Blake didn't know how to cope with the loss of one of her best friends. Ruby had been the one, along with Yang, to help her out of her shell. Blake felt horrible. It had been her idea to split up, and Ruby, of course took the input of all of her teammates. Ruby had been the deciding factor, and of course, Jaune followed her lead. Blake silently cursed Ren, Nora, and Weiss, but moved out with Yang regardless.

Within ten minutes, the black and yellow pair heard their leader shout, "I trusted you!"

"What's that about?" Blake worriedly asked her partner.

"I don't know," Yang answered, looking to wear the voice came from, "But I know that was Ruby." The blonde pulled out her scroll and called Ruby. No answer. Blake heard the glass splitting on Yang's scroll, the blonde was clearly putting too much strength into her hand.

"Try Weiss." Blake suggested.

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Yang snarled, looking to her partner with angry, red eyes. Blake put her hands up in surrender and Yang put the communication device to her ear. "Weiss—" Yang was cut off by the heiress on the other end. After a deafening silence, she finally spoke. "O-Okay." She said, her face downcast. "Meet us back at the bullhead." Yang crushed her scroll in her hand, throwing the remains against a nearby tree. She screamed in rage and destroyed the same tree with a single fiery punch.

"What happened?" Blake asked, worried, but fearful of her partner's temper.

"Fuck!" Yang decimated another tree. "God-fucking-dammit!" She destroyed a larger tree, punching the debris as it fell on top of her. Blake could only assume what had happened. Her bow went flat against her head, and she sat down, waiting for Yang to be done with her tantrum. Soon, Blake got tired of mournfully waiting and grabbed the blonde's collar, dragging her to the bullhead.

"What happened?" The Faunus sternly asked as Yang followed behind her, having gotten her partner to let go of her. Yang didn't answer, just looked down at the ground.

"Weiss… Weiss told me that— that Ruby—" Yang's sentence was cut off by a sob.

"No!" Blake said, turning around. "She's… She can't be…"

That night, Blake couldn't sleep. How could she? One of her very few friends was dead, and another had left because of it. Blake felt a painful pang in her chest every time she thought about the young leader, which happened often. Ozpin had Weiss give a detailed description of what happened. Blake wished she didn't listen to it.

According to Weiss, a Beowolf had snuck up behind Ruby and impaled her with its claws. Weiss had tried to fend them off, but several had pounced on Ruby and tore her apart. Weiss ran, as she ran she heard Ruby calling out behind her, screaming for help. When Weiss didn't return, Ruby screamed about trusting the heiress.

Her mind could easily paint a clear picture of the events in Blake's mind, horrifying her. She could see every blood vessel pop. She saw every thread of Ruby's combat skirt being torn with her skin. She could hear every bone, crunching under the beasts' jaws. The part that worried Blake the most was that she knew, for a fact, that Ruby had to have died in a tremendous amount of pain. Just the thought of Ruby crying out in so much pain brought tears to her eyes.

[Present]

Perseus moved through Beacon's ventilation shafts, aiming to find Team RWBY's dorm. It was the dead of night, and she had received word that WBY was to move out to hunt her in the morning. Perseus had to shift onto her back, so that she could gracefully land in the room while making minimal noise. The shaft was just as wide as she was, so it was a difficult maneuver. Perseus used the thermal detector on her goggles to detect where the dorm was. She was tracking Yang's extreme body temperature. The normal human's body temperature was 98.6 degrees fahrenheit. Yang's was about 130. When she found the red, yellow, with minimal green and blue, silhouette of her sister, she followed the vents to it. She remembered just where the vent was in the dorm. It was Weiss' side of the room, near the floor. Perseus felt her feet touch something. She turned off thermal and cloaked herself, seeing that she was looking at the vent, which was as big as her foot. There was no way she could get in through there. She sighed, and began to superheat the palm of her cybernetic arm, heating up the vent. She heated it up to 1,220 degrees Fahrenheit, carefully maintaining the required heat, melting through the aluminum shaft. The liquified metal fell onto her armor. Perseus focused her aura around the exposed skin and hair on her head, and stood, turning on her night vision function, she saw that she was on the other side of the wall. She was sweating from the heat, but her aura prevented burns. She used her mental communication ability to tell JNR to barricade the door and wait outside the window.

While they did as ordered, Perseus disabled the lights, tearing the wires out. Once she received confirmation that JNR had done what they had been told to, she kicked open the vent gate, immediately waking Blake. She tossed in a smoke grenade, filling the room with smoke, then activated her thermal vision. WBY was up now, trying to find the door to get out. Perseus sent a bullet from her handgun, landing it on Weiss' calf. The heiress cried out in pain.

"How does it feel?" Perseus' echoing voice asked, having hacked their scrolls to amplify her voice and make it impossible for them to find the source. "To call for help, knowing that your friends can't save—" the wall collapsed behind her, and something grabbed her, throwing her into WBY's dorm.

She threw her assailant off, hearing them slam into the wall, she turned on thermal. WBY knew she was there, but couldn't see her. A woman's figure was by Yang and Blake's side of the room, struggling to stand. Perseus began to move towards the figure, just to be hit by a flare and launched into the hallway, letting more of the smoke escape into the dorm.

"Y'know…" A familiar voice said, their silhouette stepping through the smoke, twirling something on their finger. "You kind of remind me of an old enemy I had." He stepped out, revealing himself as Roman Torchwick. "But she's gone now, and now, I have you, running around, trying to avenge her—" Perseus tried to stand, but Roman kicked her. "Stay down!" He commanded. "If Schnee really did kill Red, that makes her an ally."

Perseus pulled Roman's feet out from under him, his body slamming against the ground with a thud. Neo flew out of the shadows just as Perseus stood. The cybernetic soldier grabbed Neo's outstretched foot and slammed her into Roman, who had just stood as well. The multi colored girl used Roman as a launching pad, flying at Perseus, she dug her blade into the soldier's side, the blade having slid off the armor and sliding through the plates. Perseus screamed in pain, and slammed Neo's head against the wall, briefly disorienting her. Before Roman could get back up, Perseus pressed her foot against his head.

"Your friend gets to live because she is young, you are not." She pushed her foot down and broke his neck, killing him instantly.

Neo would have screamed in rage, but she was unable to do so, being mute. Instead, with an angered expression, she plunged her blade through Perseus' back. If she had stabbed a mere two inches to the left, her opponent would have been permanently paralyzed. The cybernetic soldier dropped to the ground, taking Neo with her. She quickly slammed the multi colored girl's head into the ground, finally knocking her unconscious, before passing out.

When Perseus woke up, she was laying on a couch. She looked around, trying to see where she was. She immediately recognized the room; it was Ozpin's office. She had been precariously tied to the couch with a few belts, each restricting her motion. Perseus scanned her suit, it had not been taken off, and neither had her mask.

Her wounds had been primitively patched up, the minimal had been done to make sure she didn't bleed out. Her suit still had scratches and scars from the past two days' battles. Her right arm's armor was still missing, and her chest piece was charred from Roman's flare, and had a large dent in it, a gunshot from several days prior. On her stomach, there was a small hole from Neo's blade, but it was covered by a small cloth, taped down. Her cloak was torn and shredded, tears running vertically across the back, with the bottom being shredded, running up the left side. The soft points on her side were torn, revealing her pale skin.

Perseus then scanned the room, looking for any other occupant. There were several people in the room; WBY, Ozpin, Winter, and Qrow. They were all looking at her, aware that she was awake.

"You did not remove my mask." She spoke, her voice scratchy and monotone. "Why?"

"Oz here thought we should be respectful of your privacy." Qrow said, looking disgusted at the headmaster. Perseus looked at the headmaster.

"I will thank you for that." She then, effortlessly, broke the belts restraining her, causing all the people in the room to point their weapons at her, everyone except for Ozpin, who just stood quietly.

Perseus did not attack as they had all assumed she would. She simply walked around, stretching her aching muscles.

"You're not going to fight?" Weiss asked, sounding oddly disappointed.

"No." Perseus answered, rubbing her wrists. "Ozpin is not interested in a conflict, as are many in this room."

"You usually talk like you know something we don't." Yang said, causing everyone to stare at her.

"That's because I do." Perseus said, glaring at Yang. "I know a lot that you don't. I'm a high-ranking Atlesian military officer. I know things Ozpin here would be executed for knowing. And I know things that would tear Team WBY(pronounces it as Wuby) apart."

"It's RWBY." Weiss corrected sternly. Perseus laughed.

"Where's the R?" She asked, trying to infuriate Weiss. "I know what happened. I've been to the Emerald Forest and gathered enough information to reconstruct the murder."

She expanded a holographic panel from her arm, tapping a few buttons, she accessed Ozpin's network, displaying a 3D rendition of Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha, and CRDL. Pyrrha and CRDL were hiding in the bushes, and Weiss was walking beside Ruby. Weiss suddenly attacked Ruby, but Ruby almost overpowered her. Pyrrha flew out of the bushes and took Ruby's right arm off.

The blood that splattered against the ground was highlighted and the video paused. "I found the blood using a black light. The space where Ruby's knees was highlighted. "When Miss Rose hit the ground, she tore up the grass, resulting in a patch of dead grass and mud in that area. It seems as though an animal got to her arm before I did, though." The video began again. "I'm unsure if this was immediate, or if Ms. Schnee played with her a little."

Ruby slung her head back, bashing her head into Pyrrha's nose. Blood dropped in between the two as Ruby ran. The video paused again. "I found what could be confirmed as Ms. Nikos' blood nearby." The video began again and Pyrrha tossed her shield at Ruby, cleaving her legs off. "Again." Perseus said. "More blood." Weiss walked towards Ruby, tearing through her chest with Myrtenaster. "The body was found with a small hole in the chest cavity, one that could only be made by a rapier." Perseus explained. "Miss Rose died soon after she was impaled."

"I refuse to believe that you actually found all of that six months later." Winter said.

"Believe it, Princess." Perseus growled. "Because that's what happened. The autopsy report agrees with everything I just showed you."

Winter pulled out her scroll, presumably to check the records. After a few moments, Winter glanced up at Perseus, then down to her scroll, Perseus, scroll. She quickly put it away and sighed.

"If you will excuse me, I have research to do on this subject." Winter turned and walked out the door.

"Still don't believe me?" Perseus' answer came in the form of Qrow's sword, swiping down her left arm, and tearing most of the armor off that arm. Perseus had leaped out of the way, and his sword had caught her armor. Perseus tore off the loose piece of cloth that hung from her arm, exposing her bare skin. Just as she landed, Yang landed a hit right in her face, launching her out the window and onto the campus below. Perseus flipped and turned once she hit the ground, but stopped by holding out her prosthetic arm, digging her fingers into the pavement, sparks flying from the friction of metal and pavement.

Her bangs hung over her shattered goggles, which she tore off, throwing them to the side. Her hair shielded her silver eyes, protecting her identity as WBY dropped down, ready for a fight.

Edited by DemonFoxBK201


	14. Finale

"I have trained in Atlas solely for this moment, Schnee." Perseus told Weiss. "The Atlesian Military has known about Rose since day one."

Perseus didn't let them react to this, but instead charged them, jumping into the air, and kicking Weiss on the chin. She used Weiss' face as a launchpad, landing back where she had been originally. Perseus equipped her handgun, pointing it at Weiss.

Weiss could hear Perseus' voice inside of her head, echoing through her brain, rattling her skull. "Tell them what you did, or I will blow your brains out and tell them myself. This time. They will believe me."

"No!" Weiss shouted, launching herself at the soldier, blade extended in her direction. Perseus flipped over her, landing behind her and kicking her in the spine. Weiss collided with one of the pillars in the courtyard. Perseus began to psychologically torture Weiss once more, communicating with her mentally.

"Tell them. I know you did it. You just confessed to me." She said, so that only Weiss could hear.

"I did not!" Weiss yelled. She charged Perseus again, her teammates confused as to what was happening. Perseus kicked Myrtenaster into the air and nailed Weiss in the face, next, she grabbed the heiress by her collar and slammed her back against the pavement.

"Tell them the truth!" This time, the voice screamed in Weiss' head, becoming overwhelmingly unbearable.

"I— Never!" She shouted, unaware that Perseus had picked up on her pattern of speaking aloud when she answered. Blake and Yang knew that Weiss was lying about something, but didn't make the connection.

Weiss saw Perseus' cheekbones rise above her mask in a grin that her mask concealed. "And what is the truth, Miss Schnee?" She asked.

"I–! You tricked me!" Weiss shouted, landing a hit on Perseus' face. The soldier hit her back, causing her head to slam into the pavement.

"Your life is over!" She hit her again. "You will spend the rest of your life behind bars!" Perseus picked Weiss up, holding her in the direction of Blake and Yang. "But first, you have to face them."

Blake and Yang stared at the heiress emotionlessly.

"Seven people." Perseus said to Yang. "Seven people worked together to kill your sister, and all seven of them have been brought to justice. You fought me every step of the way. I completely understand, she manipulated you."

"How?" Blake asked.

"She just confessed!" Perseus shouted defiantly. "She made you fight for her, so she wouldn't go to prison."

"She did not confess." Yang said in a matter-of-fact tone. "She just said she wouldn't tell us something. Until she says that she killed Ruby, she's innocent."

Perseus sighed. "You're so naïve." She said. "You want so badly to believe that the person you defended is innocent, so you're ignoring all facts!"

She pulled out her handgun and put a single round into Weiss' stomach, causing the heiress to fall backwards. Blake lunged forward, managing to catch her. She carefully watched her opponent.

"You're all so naïve." She repeated. "And so very ambitious! Unfortunately, the real world is so very different from a fucking fairytale!" She began to angrily storm towards the three, firing her weapon into the air. "There is never a happy ending!" Another shot fired. "I didn't have one!" WBY quickly began to realize that this was all so very personal for the soldier. "I was betrayed! Why?! Because I was better! Because I was young!" She paused and her hand moved to the hem of her mask. "Because I was childish! I've learned from my mistakes, Weiss! Have you?!" She tore the mask off, throwing it to the ground. Yang and Blake froze. Blake stood, releasing pressure from Weiss' wound. She stepped in beside her blonde partner. "I'm going to kill her!" Ruby shouted. "And if you get in my way, I'll kill you too! I don't care who you are!"

Ruby began to rapidly pull the trigger of her handgun, loading bullet after bullet into the heiress, who dissipated into mist. It was a shadow clone.

"AAAGH!" Ruby screamed in frustration and turned to Blake. "Where is she?!" The faunas was staring in shock. Ruby was now Adam. "WHERE IS SHE?!" Ruby grabbed Blake's throat, lifting her into the air. "I- I don't know!" Blake choked out. Ruby tossed the black haired faunas to the side. "I WILL FIND YOU!" She screamed, echoing throughout Beacon, scaring a few students. Jaune suddenly appeared by her side along Ren and Nora. "Fan out!" She shouted. "Find that bitch!"

Yang was shocked. This was not Ruby. It just absolutely wasn't. Ruby was happy. Ruby was forgiving. She was innocent. This wasn't her… It just wasn't.

"You're not my sister." Yang quietly told Ruby, who turned from her search, rage permanently burned into her face.

"Your sister was weak! So I killed her!" Ruby was suddenly launched across the courtyard. A familiar blonde man took her place.

"Dad?" Yang asked, worry plastered on her face. "When did you get here?"

"In time to find that Perseus killed Ruby!" Taiyang said, beginning to move towards the still form of the soldier.

"Dad..." Yang said. "It's more complicated than that!"

Taiyang turned, "How?!" He shouted. His red eyes showed his obvious rage.

"Ruby isn't dead." Yang told him. "She's… She's just pissed off."

Taiyang seemed to understand what she was saying. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

He strode towards Ruby. She had begun to stand, but he grabbed the back of her neck, and forced her onto her stomach. He quickly bound her hands with a pair of handcuffs. He pulled her to her feet, leading her back to the clock tower. Ruby hadn't seen his face or heard his voice, so she didn't realize that it was Taiyang.

She whipped her head back, bashing it into Taiyang's nose. She began to run, but he grabbed her leg, making her fall. Ruby had been unable to break the handcuffs, so her face impacted the pavement without her hands to break her fall. Her father threw her over his shoulder this time, binding her legs with another pair of handcuffs. He didn't want to arrest her, but he was a hunter, he had no choice.

The elevator opened with a ding. Qrow and Ozpin quickly turned to it, worried that it was Perseus. They were surprised to see that it Taiyang, with Perseus slung over his shoulder. Her ankles had a pair of handcuffs around them, and Taiyang's nose was slightly bleeding. He tossed his prisoner down on the couch.

"Solved the Mystery of the Angsty Teenager." He declared, looking very upset about having to arrest his daughter. The other two stood, and ran over to the struggling form of Ruby. She looked pissed.

Qrow could hear the handcuffs screeching against her strength, but showed no signs of breaking. Her flesh arm had a large, red ring where the handcuffs were.

"Let me go!" She shouted.

"It can't be her." Qrow said to Taiyang, who shook his head.

"It's her."

Ozpin so suddenly put a syringe into Ruby's neck, he pressed the plunger, and little by little, she stopped struggling. Her eyelids drooping down.

"What was that?" Taiyang asked, worrying that Ozpin had just poisoned Summer's daughter.

"It's a sedative, Tai." Ozpin said. "You and I both know I'm not stupid enough to cause one of your daughters' harm."

"Unfortunately," A voice said from the elevator. "The same cannot be said about the Schnee family."

"You!" Taiyang began to storm towards Ironwood, picking him up by his neck and slamming him against the elevator door. "You ruined her!" He shouted.

"I saved her life, Tai." James choked out. "She would have died if I hadn't have found her."

"I would rather have her raised by the Grimm!"

"Release him." Ozpin told Taiyang, who complied, dropping the General. "I've just come to pick up the rogue." He said, getting to his feet.

"The rogue?" Qrow asked, unconsciously stepping in between James and Ruby.

"Killing a Schnee is just as bad as desertion in the Atlesian Military." James explained. "She's going to be court-martialed."

"Like hell!" Taiyang shouted. "If anyone ever found out her age, you could be indicted."

"She's a minor," Qrow added. "You could sue, Tai."

"And I probably will." Taiyang said. "Maybe that way, I can afford the psychiatric treatment she needs!"

"There's nothing wrong with her, Tai." Ozpin finally entered the conversation. "What happened to her was the result of a large betrayal of trust at such a young age, alongside the traumatic experience of losing not one, but three limbs in the process. There will be no money required to help her. Just time."

"She'll have plenty of time where she's going." James added bluntly.

"You didn't let me finish." Ozpin said, stopping Taiyang from attack on the General. "But, coupled with James' manipulation, this may not be the case. It may be possible that she will never get over this betrayal."

"What do we do then?" Taiyang asked. "Do we try to help her? What?"

"Unfortunately, we're faced with two options; send her to prison for the rest of her life. I know, it seems like such a harsh punishment for a fifteen year old, but she killed people. Nine people. Or, we could initiate the Political Protocol."

Even James seemed shocked that Ozpin would suggest such an atrocity. Just months before, the headmaster had openly protested against such a punishment. They all knew what he was talking about.

"I guess I really don't have a choice. Ruby's not going to prison. Has it ever been successful?" Taiyang said. Ozpin nodded.

"It may take time to make sure she can still function afterwards. And I believe she will spend some time trying to understand." He said. Taiyang nodded.

"I have no other choice."

To Be Continued: The Political Protocol

 **A/N: That's it. That's the end of The General's Side. But, what is the Political Protocol? I have a sequel planned. What's it about? The Political Protocol. Thank you so much for reading and following/ favoriting. Thank you for the reviews! Be sure to check out The Political Protocol when it comes out, I'm sure you'll love it!**

 **E/N: Hello! It's me! DemonFoxBK201! I have to say… This turned out better than I thought it would… I'm curious myself as to what Exact has planned… I hope you'll read the sequel!**


	15. Post-Credits Scene

**A/N: This is just a quick teaser, because I've barely written the first chapter of the next story! I'm George RR Martining the shit outta this!**

There was a girl with short red hair, so dark it was almost black at the roots, seated at a bar. She stared longingly off into space as she took shot-after-shot of whiskey. She had been there all day, and to the bartender, she looked to be underage, but, sure enough, when he asked for ID, he saw that she was in fact eighteen; old enough to drink. Ruby Rose was her name.

He didn't think the name fit her; Ruby Rose was usually a name you associated with either some porn star or someone who would always be happy and chipper. If her lonely, longing, gaze was any indication, she was depressed. The scars on her face hinted at a career in the military, or that she had at least seen some battles.

As he was pouring her the next shot, he asked, "Somethin' wrong, Miss?" She chuckled grimly.

"Understatement." She muttered in reply, before downing another shot.

"You drinking to forget?" He prodded out of curiosity, pouring out the last of the bottle. She shook her head.

"Nah…" She said. "Drinking to remember."


	16. The Political Protocol

Alright! Readers of The General's Side! I am glad to announce that the sequel for this was posted yesterday, and is my primary focus at the moment! Go to my profile to read it!


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